Raptors heading home after series split with RocketsBack to video

The Raptors had Marc Gasol in the lineup for the first time — “looks like he hasn’t missed a beat,” was head coach Nick Nurse’s pronouncement — though Kyle Lowry remains sidelined. In his first game action since winning the World Cup while with Spain last month, Gasol looked solid coming off the bench behind Serge Ibaka. Gasol had three steals and six rebounds, along with six points in 18 minutes.

Norman Powell had a second big game in a row as he continues to make a case for the starting shooting guard role. Powell led the Raptors with 22 points, which tied with Rockets stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Pascal Siakam added 16, but Toronto’s offence lacked the cohesion seen in the first game.

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Powell said afterward that he absolutely has the Oct. 22 opener against New Orleans circled and hopes to have claimed that starting spot. That said, he said he is not playing any differently to try to enhance his cause. The UCLA product only missed two of his seven three-point attempts, grabbed three rebounds and handed out one of the best assists of the night.

“Honestly I approach this season pretty much the same way. I’ve set high expectations for myself,” Powell said.

“I see the opportunity and I’m really focused on taking advantage of that in doing so in a way that best helps the team. I’ve never been a guy to put my own wants and needs ahead of the team,” he said. “I’m just trying to go out there and help any way possible, but also accomplish some things that I’ve set out for myself.

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“I definitely want to be the starting two guard from the start of the season on Oct. 22.”

Toronto’s defence wasn’t particularly sharp for the second game in a row, but was bailed out a bit by some poor outside shooting by Harden and Westbrook, who shot a combined 4-for-19 on three-pointers.

Toronto’s lone draft pick this season, centre Dewan Hernandez, made his debut and acquitted himself well, but is expected to be bound for Raptors 905 for some seasoning after missing an entire season due to NCAA red tape.

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Another big man option, Chris Boucher, impressed again and head coach Nick Nurse made it clear afterward that Boucher is putting himself into the mix for some minutes. Nurse also singled out Terence Davis, Malcolm Miller and OShae Brissett as catching his eye. What Nurse didn’t mention is that veteran newcomers Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson have had a rough start to their Toronto tenure.

“Plenty of guys there, it’s not easy to weed it out (the rotation) this time of year but that’s part of the reason we play so many guys and limit the minutes of our veterans,” Nurse said.

All in all, he is reasonably content at this early stage, but ready to look ahead too.

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“I think our guys that we’ve had around a little bit are rounding into shape. I really like the way Pascal, Norm, Fred look,” Nurse said in summing up the two games.

“OG (Anunoby’s) still trying to get on track, but I thought he made some plays defensively tonight. Gasol just changes a lot of things just with his toughness and his IQ and stuff out there.”

The Raptors will now head home ahead of Typhoon Hagibis’s arrival in Japan and prepare for Sunday’s home game against the Chicago Bulls.

If all goes well, Lowry will be in the lineup. Gasol has been ruled out.

“Really, really great trip here,” Nurse said in closing. “Really happy we came. Had an amazing time and the basketball for us has been just what we needed as well.”

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Nick Nurse had never been to Japan before this trip, but his nephew David is quite familiar with the country. The younger Nurse has worked as a shooting coach with the Brooklyn Nets and trained or acted as a life coach for dozens of NBA players including Raptors guard Norman Powell and ex-Raptor Jeremy Lin, and has also worked extensively in Japan.

“Yeah, he’s texted and emailed me quite a bit. He enjoys it here a lot,” Nick Nurse said of his nephew earlier in the week.

“He said he’s getting everybody warmed up for me. He’s been around the world quite a bit (51 countries and counting, per his Twitter feed). He’s a really good young coach and he’ll continue to get better,” Nurse said.

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Powell counts David Nurse as a close friend and someone he has been tight with since being introduced through a mutual friend while Powell was at UCLA more than half a decade ago.

“We built a relationship outside of basketball, hang out, talk to him, stuff like that,” Powell told the Toronto Sun.

“He has a very unique approach to the game and just life in general. His mindset, he’s very optimistic, very positive. Big believer in Christ, I think that was the main connection me and him had in college, our Christian faith. He’s a great guy just to have and to talk to.

“He’s always reached out to me and tried to help me with my NBA career. It’s always good to have him around,” Powell said.

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